Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman, left, high-fives teammate Gunnar Henderson, right, after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)

Back-to-back homers by Rutschman and Mountcastle in 1st send Orioles to 3-2 win over Athletics

BALTIMORE (AP) — Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning and the Baltimore Orioles held on to beat the Athletics 3-2 on Friday night.

Tomoyuki Sugano (9-5), a 35-year-old rookie from Japan, allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. Yennier Cano yielded a run in the eighth before Keegan Akin closed it out with a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Gunnar Henderson drew a two-out walk from rookie J.T. Ginn in the first and Rutschman followed with his ninth home run. Mountcastle hit his third homer after being activated from the 60-day injured list prior to the game.

Lawrence Butler doubled leading off the fifth before advancing on a groundout and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Luis Urías to cut it to 3-1.

Nick Kurtz singled and scored on Tyler Soderstrom’s two-out base hit in the eighth to get the A’s within a run.

Ginn (2-4) allowed three runs and three hits in five innings with a season-high nine strikeouts. He permitted one hit over his final four innings. Ben Bowden, Tyler Ferguson and Elvis Alvarado each pitched a scoreless inning.

Baltimore (53-63) has won two straight.

The Athletics (51-67) took two of three at home against the Orioles in June.

Key moment

Mountcastle’s home run came on the third pitch he saw in his first game since May 30.

Key stat

The Athletics’ 4.96 ERA is the worst in the AL, with the Orioles one spot up at 4.87.

Up next

Athletics rookie Jack Perkins (0-2, 3.97 ERA) makes his second start Saturday opposite Orioles rookie Brandon Young (0-5, 5.88).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Baltimore Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson tosses his bat after drawing a walk during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Baltimore Orioles’ Ryan Mountcastle, left, high-fives Ryan Noda, right, after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Athletics’ Nick Kurtz is called out on strikes during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)

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